Schelkunoff, Jean Gardiner Kennedy, 1901-1979; New York State government official. Mount Holyoke College graduate, 1923. Papers consist of diaries, correspondence, articles, biographical information, and photographs. Primarily documenting her trip to China and the British Isles and her marriage to Sergei A. Schelkunoff.

Terms of Access and Use:

Unrestricted

Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special CollectionsSouth Hadley, MA

Biographical Note

Jean G. Kennedy was born on Novemebr 27, 1901 in Omaha, Nebraska. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1923 and went on to the New York School of Social Work from which she graduated in 1925. She then worked for Northwestern Bell Telephone Company in Omaha. On August 4, 1928 she married Dr. Sergei A. Schelkunoff. In 1930 she began working for the New York State Department of Labor. She received an M.A. from Columbia University two years later. In 1936 she was appointed Secretary of the Division on Recreation, Education, and Neighborhood Activities of the Welfare Council of New York City. She retired in 1966. She died on February 26, 1979 in Highstown, New Jersey.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Jean G. Kennedy Papers include diaries, correspondence, articles and other writings, biographical material and photographs. Includes letters to her mother describing her experiences as a delegate to the World Student Christian Federation Conference in Peking, 1922, and to Sergei A. Schelkunoff, 1925-1929, reflecting the nature of their courtship and marriage. Also includes diaries of the China trip and a 1935 trip to England and Scotland as well as personal and professional correspondence, 1945-1990, and biographical information about her husband, an inventor and researcher in electromagnetism.

Material from this collection is available in an online digital format.

The following terms represent persons, organizations, and topics documented in this collection. Use these headings to search for additional materials on this web site, in the Five College Library Catalog, or in other library catalogs and databases.